Fall TV Week 2: Tuesday & Wednesday – Hour of the 80s Vet

I forgot to mention yesterday that I finally managed to watch Scream Queensthis weekend, after a few DVR snafus finally drove me to Amazon for the pilot (free, by the way), and DANG, DID I EVER LOVE IT. This is officially the only new show of the season I can’t wait to see more of. A little uneven, but a few truly great lines (security guard saying, “Eh, nothing ever happens in a Best Buy parking lot anyway” was just about the best thing ever), and Jamie Lee Curtis is a total blast. I’m sold. And I cannot wait to watch that mean girl get stabbed. <– Wait, did I just say that out loud? It’s pretend, you guys! *ahem*

Here’s what’s coming the next two days:

9/29 Tuesday

Grandfathered – Fox – 8pm – The first half of Fox’s Tuesday night “Hour of the 80s Vet,” this one stars John Stamos having a mid-life crisis when the son he didn’t know he had shows up with the grandson he definitely didn’t know he had. Hilarity (theoretically) ensues. Well. We’ll just see about that, won’t we.

The Grinder – Fox – 8:30pm – The second half of Fox’s Tuesday night “Hour of the 80s Vet,,” this one stars Rob Lowe having a mid-life crisis when the TV series he’d been the star of for years finally gets canceled. Of these two, The Grinder is the one getting stronger reviews, and the one I’m going to record to give a shot. I love Rob Lowe, I admit, not to mention good ol’ Fred Savage, and the premise is a little more interesting to me. But we’ll see what happens. I’m not 100% sold on Rob Lowe’s hair, for one thing. That just . . . I don’t know. I don’t know what. Is what.

Beyond the Tank – ABC – 10pm – I was really excited when I first heard there was going to be a reality show called Shark Tank, because I never get tired of watching hapless dum-dums swim for their lives in a tank full of sharks. Why do you think I’ve watched Open Water six times? Alas, the sharks were a metaphor, DANG!, and the show was actually about business crap and corporate greed, or somesuch. This follow-up series features updates on the hapless dum-dums who made it out of the shark tank and into the rat race. I could not be less interested.

9/30 Wednesday

Criminal Minds – CBS – 9pm – I still dip into this show periodically, but not regularly. It’s just too heavy on the lady-punishing for me to watch every week. I do like some of the characters, and sometimes the stories are intriguing. But it’s not a favorite and it’s one I usually only make time for when nothing else is on. It has long kind of amused-slash-bummed-me-out that this series is on at the same time as SVU; 9pm on Wednesday: Misogyny-See TV.

Code Black – CBS – 10pm – Oh man, DOES THIS EVER LOOK TERRIBLE. What the hell are you doing, Marcia Gay Harden? I couldn’t even watch the whole trailer for this show, which is a shame because the documentary it’s based on is really good. The series, on the other hand, appears to be riddled with lines like this: “People come here for one reason and one reason only, to get one last miracle.” I don’t even care that that line is delivered by Luis Guzmán, a man I adore, because that’s just A. TERRIBLE. LINE. “Code Black” refers to an influx of more patients than the staff in the ER can handle, meaning somebody’s bound to die, and the original documentary is highly political, with a whoooole lot to say about the health care crisis in this country and the damage to real humans that comes when politicians too focused on votes and money leave millions of people struggling for care. I don’t get the feeling the TV version of this is going to be nearly as passionate or intelligent about the subject. Instead, it looks like a lot of really bad acting and a steaming dump of thoughtless trauma entertainment. I’ll try the pilot for you guys, but when I go in, I’ll be going in with dread. Abandon all hope, ye who enter CBS at 10pm on Wednesday.

Chicago PD – NBC – 10pm – Is this show any good? Did I ever watch this one? Should I?

What did you guys think of Scream Queens, by the way?

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(Liz) I decided to pass on “Scream Queens,” and try “Code Black.” Maybe I was completely wrong! I have no interest in John Stamos, but am intrigued by the casting of Rob Leow and Fred Savage as brothers. We decided to give up on the Marvel-SHIELD thing. Sticking with NCIS and New Orleans, though.

Well, I’d describe Scream Queens as a cross between 90s slasher movies and the movie Heathers, so if that doesn’t appeal, you’re wise to skip! I also love the idea of Lowe and Savage as brothers! Hoping that will be as fun as it sounds like it could be!

YES! That’s true about Code Black — I think a lot of those codes vary from hospital to hospital, actually. On Gray’s Anatomy, it was the bomb threat code, for example. At this particular hospital (which I think is in LA, both for the doc and the series), it’s that “too many critical patients, not enough doctors” thing.

Dude, I would so totally be game for a “future of armored warfare” TV series. You should get on that, Roger!

Okay, Meg, because you didn’t ask for it, here’s my list of Shows I’m Watching (So Far) and Shows I’ve Already Buried. This is going to be confusing any way I do it, so I’ll do it by day.

SUNDAY

Brooklyn Nine Nine: Still watching, and will likely continue for the rest of the season, even though my interest is waning and it feels like its already peaked.

Madam Secretary: About to watch season 1 on Netflix and hopefully can do so before season 2 gets too far in.

Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead, The Talking Dead: Fear just ended, and the flagship starts next week. I enjoyed Fear, and I thought the last season of Dead was the best it’s been in awhile, so I’m looking forward to the premiere on Sunday night. And I usually also watch Talking depending on the guests, just because I like Hardwick.

The Last Man on Earth: I enjoyed last season, for the most part, but feel like Forte’s Phil had some problems as a character. They decided to do a soft reboot this season and make him more sympathetic. It now feels like they’re caught between not actually succeeding at that, and even if they did, then having a toothless character and a fuzzier, less edgy version of the show. It’s pretty lose-lose in my mind, and in the mean time both episodes of the new season felt like forgettable retreads from last season. I’m giving it one more episode and likely putting it to bed.

Project Greenlight: I’m really enjoying this one, and think a lot of people jumped the gun, and jumped on the social-media groupthink bandwagon, by crucifying Damon for his comments about diversity, which prematurely twisted and misconstrued what he actually said. As with most Greenlights, the “pleasure” comes in biting one’s nails while a green director without any studio experience won’t listen to the paid, experienced staff around them. Four episodes in and producer Effie Brown has become so frustrated by this season’s winner that she’s perhaps surpassed him as the production’s greatest liability.

The Affair: I’m still watching, and it’s good enough that I’ll probably continue. It’s Showtime, so it’s a higher quality level than most network fare, but I’m not completely sucked in, and this season I’m starting to wonder if the leads are too dysfunctional to keep me invested.

Homeland: The first episode was kind of disappointing; it felt like they were building very exposition heavy story threads. But it’s Homeland, so I’m still on board and I assume it will pick up the pace after another episode or two.

The Leftovers: Well, I guess I’m in for the season. Did you guys watch the premiere? I turned to my girlfriend at the end of the 10 minute intro scene and said “Lindelof should have just called it “I Dare You to Watch, Colon Fatalism.” But he has balls and takes chances, I’ll give him that. He tries things that would send other TV writers running to go cry into a diaper. In yo face, NCIS.

MONDAY

Life in Pieces: I want to check it out, but CBS’ anti-Hulu policy means I have to stream it on CBS.com and haven’t found the right time yet to do so.

Minority Report: It was one and done for me. As much as was refreshingly clever about the show, there was an equal number of poorly done elements. And the acting was pretty atrocious across the board, including that of actors I otherwise like, so I’m blaming the directing. Either way, I’m out.

Blindspot: Two and done on this one. The concept seemed ludicrous, and it was, but the pilot was executed fairly well. I gave it one more and it settled into a relatively generic TV procedural that I have no interest in following.

Gotham: You know, I kind of enjoyed the first season as decent genre television. Some of the actors were good, some not so good, but they kept it relatively grounded and it managed to be a fun show. But this season? Two episodes in and I can’t take the cartoonish overacting and increasingly inane writing. This one has been taken out back and shot in the head. For those of you who stopped mid-season last season asking yourself “Should I give it another chance?” The answer is, “If you didn’t like last season, hells no, because it gets worse; it gets so much worse.”

TUESDAY

The Grinder: Loved it. Best new comedy of the season, and considering the way both New Girl and Brooklyn Nine Nine have lost steam over their previous seasons, I’d say this is easily my favorite comedy (okay, behind the just ended Married). Fred Savage’s directing career has really helped his acting–he’s genuinely great; and this is a perfect role for the comedic post Parks and Rec Rob Lowe. I hope they can keep the concept from running stale too quickly. Plus, William Devane as their dad.

Scream Queens: Well, this is basically shit, but so far it’s kind of entertaining shit. My fear though, is that it won’t be for long. Recently I remarked to my girlfriend, “I wish any of the seasons of American Horror Story were anywhere near as clever and compelling as their posters and trailers.” Showrunners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are great at ideas, but their shows quickly run aground mid-season as a result of their inability to deliver on early promise. I expect a similar deflation of the cream puff enjoyment I’ve gotten so far out of Scream Queens.

iZombie: Looking forward to season 2!

Limitless: See Life in Pieces. Still moderately interested and will check out an episode or two online soon.

THURSDAY

The Blacklist: I have a soft spot for this show; love all of the primary cast. It may have become less compelling mid-last season, but I’m likely on board until they run it into the ground. This is like more Alias for me, and a fun B-genre guilty pleasure.

The Player: I was surprised by how how slick the first episode was. Very well executed, with a lot of solid performances. Snipes was having a lot of fun with the material. But the second episode felt pretty flat, and like the show is going to settle into generic procedural. I’m giving it one more and I’m out.

Brian – yeah, I was one of those midseason dropouts on Gotham. Quite enjoying Scream Queens; Minority Report is clearly doomed but I’m enjoying it for what it is; Quantico is thoroughly unappealing; Limitless looks good so far.